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Home , Determinism, Testability

CHAPTER 1

Psychological Research

The Whys and Hows of the

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS YOU READ CHAPTER 1

• Why do psychologists use the scientific method? • How do psychologists use the scientific method? • What are the canons of the scientific method? • What is the between basic and applied research? • How do basic and applied research interact to increase our about behavior?

As an instructor of an introductory course for psychology majors, I ask my first-semester freshman students the question “What is a psychologist?” At the beginning of the semester, students typically say that a psychologist listens to other people’s problems to help them live happier lives. By the end of the semester and their first college course in psychology, these same students respond that a psychologist studies behavior through research. These students have learned that psychology is a that investigates behav - ior, mental processes, and their causes. That is what this book is about: how psychologists use the scientific method to observe and understand behavior and mental processes. The goal of this text is to give you a step-by-step approach to designing research in psy - chology, from the purpose of research (discussed in this chapter) and the types of questions psychologists ask about behavior, to the methods psychologists use to observe and under - stand behavior and describe their findings to others in the field.

WHY PSYCHOLOGISTS CONDUCT RESEARCH

Think about how you know the things you know. How do you know the earth is round? How do you know it is September? How do you know that there is a poverty crisis in some parts of Africa? There are probably many ways that you know these things. In some cases, you may 3 4 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH

know things because you used your intuition or previous knowledge to deduce these . For example, you may know from past that where you live, in the month of September, days tend to still be warm but start to get cooler, especially at night. Remembering that this is the weather you have been experiencing and you are still living in the same location as past years, you can deduce that the month is September from your knowledge base. You may have first learned that the earth is round from an authority figure like your parents, teachers, or text authors. You may have also observed that the earth is round by viewing photographs taken from space of the earth. You may know there is a poverty crisis in some parts of Africa from authority figures as well (e.g., magazine and newspaper reporters, Bono).  These are the primary ways that we learn new facts: intu - Intuition: relying on as a ition , de duction , authority , and . means of knowing about the world Suppose something occurred that caused you to suspect that the authority figures you have learned Deduction: using logical reasoning and these facts from are not reliable sources of informa - current knowledge as a means of knowing tion. Perhaps they have been caught lying about other about the world facts. You might also consider a situation where you Authority: relying on a knowledgeable person do not have enough previous experience with a topic or group as a means of knowing about the world to use your intuition to determine the for Observation: relying on what one observes yourself. In these situations, what is the best way to as a means of knowing about the world find the facts for yourself? The answer is observation. If you had reason to believe, for example, that the poverty crisis in some parts of Africa is not rep - resented accurately, you could go there yourself and observe what is going on to find out if people are representing the true state of things. (In the case of poverty in some parts of Africa, you would probably find out that they are being accurately represented.) This is why psychologists conduct behavioral research: It is the best way to make sure that the information they have about behavior is accurate. By conducting careful and sys - tematic , they can be sure that they are getting the most accurate knowledge they can about behavior. This does not mean that every study conducted will yield accu - rate results. There are many cases where the observations different researchers collect con - flict, but this is an important part of the process. Different ways of observing a behavior may yield different observations and these different observations help us better understand how behaviors occur. See Table 1.1 for some examples of different ways of knowing.

TABLE 1.1 Examples of Ways of Knowing

Way of Knowing Example Intuition I suddenly recognize the solution to a crossword puzzle. Deduction The sun is setting to my right, so if I turn right, I will be headed west. Authority I know that a high white blood cell count indicates an infection because that is what my high school biology teacher said. Observation The results of a survey indicate that most Americans get an average of 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night (Moore, 2004). CHAPTER 1 Psychological Research 5

Using Science to Understand and Explain Behavior Observation is really what sets scientific fields apart from other fields of study. Someone who wants to know about the political situation during the Civil War may read historical documents and use his or her intuition to describe the situation from these documents. He or she might also read books by experts (authority figures) on the Civil War period or impor - tant figures who lived during that . However, historians typically cannot observe the his - torical they are studying. Psychologists have an advantage in that the behavior they want to learn about is happening in humans and other animals in the world around them. The best way to learn about it is to just observe it. Some behaviors, such as mental processes, cannot be directly observed (e.g., or memories). Thus, psychologists have developed techniques for inferring information about mental processes through observation of specific behaviors that are affected by the mental processes. Psychologists then attempt to understand mental processes through these behaviors and may investigate the factors that influence those behaviors. That is what this book (and the course you are taking) is all about—understanding the methods psychologists use to observe, measure, and study behavior and mental processes (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Psychologists May Study Communication Differences Between Men and Women by Observing Their Behavior While They Talk to Each Other

SOURCE: Copyright by Cartoon Stock, www.cartoonstock.com. 6 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH

Research is the foundation of the field of psychology. Many people think of helping pro - fessions when they think about what kinds of things psychologists do. This is because most people with a graduate degree in psychology work in these (or related) professions (American Psychological Association, 2003). However, to do their jobs well, helping pro - fessionals such as clinicians and counselors need to understand the findings from research about behavior so that they know what types of treatments and therapies will best help their clients. The research studies conducted in psychology also help clinicians and coun - selors understand what constitutes “normal” behavior and what behaviors might be con - sidered “abnormal.” Thinking about the field of biology may help you understand how influential research is in the field of psychology. In the biological field, there are researchers who investigate the way our bodies react physically to the world around us (e.g., after being exposed to a virus). This knowledge helps other researchers determine which drugs may be effective in helping us improve these physical reactions (e.g., reduce our symptoms as we fight the virus). Finally, the knowledge gained in biological research helps doctors correctly diagnose and treat their patients (e.g., what symptoms indicate presence of a particular virus and which drugs are most effective in treating these symptoms). The field of psychology works a lot like the field of biology (although the term psychologist applies to both scientists and practitioners in psy - chology, sometimes causing confusion). Some researchers investigate what causes certain types of behaviors (e.g., distraction in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD). Other researchers may investigate what treatments are effective in reducing these behaviors (e.g., rewarding someone for staying on task). Finally, some psychologists work with clients to help them deal with problem behaviors. For example, school psychologists may work with teachers and parents to develop a reward system for students with ADHD who have difficulty completing work in class because he or she becomes distracted easily. The research that investigated the behaviors associated with ADHD and the factors that can reduce those behaviors was necessary for the school psychologist to be able to develop an effective treatment plan for the client.

HOW PSYCHOLOGISTS USE THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

 Our starting place for conducting research studies : gaining knowledge through in psychology is an understanding of the assump - systematic observation of the world tions that come along with the methods of science. We need to keep some in when we : the assumption that phenomena have identifiable causes use the scientific method to understand behavior. As discussed earlier, scientific study requires obser - Parsimony: the assumption that the vations. It is the primary aspect of the scientific simplest explanation of a is most likely to be correct method. However, there are actually four primary facets or canons (i.e., rules or that guide : the assumption that a field of study) that define the scientific method. explanations of behavior can be tested and falsified through observation They are empiricism , determinism , parsimony , and testability . CHAPTER 1 Psychological Research 7

Empiricism

The first canon is empiricism, and this Figure 1.2 Galileo is just what we have been discussing already—that the scientific method relies on observations. We have several impor - tant people to thank for the empirical of science. Galileo, for example, was an influential scientist who used observa - tions to understand the world (Sharratt, 1996). Much of the learning up to Galileo’s time (1564–1642) had relied on authority figures, such as and , and their about the world to understand how the world worked. However, Galileo (Figure 1.2) and his contemporaries (e.g., Copernicus, Newton) claimed that to learn how the world works, one should observe it. When Galileo wanted to understand how our solar system worked, he observed the movement of the planets around the sun through a telescope, instead of simply accepting the authoritative held by Aristotle that the earth was the center of the solar system and everything revolved around it. He made careful, systematic observations of the phenomena of interest to better understand those phenomena. What we do in psychology is not very dif - SOURCE: Copyright by Jupiter Unlimited, www.jupiter ferent from what Galileo did. If develop - unlimited.com. mental psychologists want to know about bullying behaviors in elementary school children, they go out and carefully observe specific playground behaviors among these children or systematically observe the behaviors of children who have been identified as bullies. Why do psychologists observe behavior? Observing behavior gives researchers a more accu - rate understanding of the causes of behaviors than other methods of gaining knowledge. Relying on an authority to learn about behavior, for example, would greatly limit our under - standing of behaviors across large groups of individuals, because not all authority figures are equally reliable and some may have faulty information. How do we use empiricism to learn about behavior? There are many different ways to do this. We can simply observe people in their normal environment (e.g., children on a playground at recess). We can ask them to complete a survey (e.g., have them respond to items that help us mea - sure their mood). We can ask them to come into a lab and complete a task on a computer (e.g., test their memory for different types of information). Each of these methods allows us to gather empir - ical measurements of behavior (observation techniques will be discussed further in Chapter 3). 8 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH

Determinism Another important aspect of the scientific method is the adherence to determinism. This is the that phenomena in the world (and human behaviors) occur naturally and have identifiable causes (in extreme cases, determinism can indicate a denial of ). In other words, by conducting studies to observe behavior, we can understand the factors that cause those behaviors to occur. One goal of psychological research is to be able to explain behavior by understanding the causes of different types of behavior. For example, why do people get depressed? What causes false memories? Does sleeplessness cause anx - iety? Does anxiety cause sleeplessness? The assumption of determinism in psychological research is that each of these behaviors (depression, false memories, anxiety, sleeplessness) has a specific cause or of causes and we can understand these causes through obser - vation of behavior in different circumstances. For many behaviors studied by psychologists, multiple causes may the behaviors. How is determinism used in psychological research? Because the goal of research is typ - ically to gain a better understanding of behavior and its causes, researchers begin with a pre - diction (often based on tested in and results from past studies) about what causes behavior and look for behaviors they can observe in their study that are consistent or inconsistent with that . The specifics of how causes of behavior are studied are discussed in Chapter 3.

Parsimony In the 1997 film Contact, Jodie Foster’s character, Dr. Ellie Arroway, attempts to explain what she in as a scientist to Matthew McConaughey’s character, Palmer Joss. She tells him that simpler explanations of the world are preferred over more complex explanations, particularly if there is no that a complex explanation is correct. She calls this concept “Occam’s Razor” (after the Franciscan friar who suggested it as an important part of the scientific method). Parsimony is what Arroway is speaking of when she talks about the preference for more simple explanations. In psychological research, we develop expla - nations of behavior starting with the simplest descriptions and expanding those descriptions only when it becomes clear that the behavior is more complex than our original description of it. In other words, simple explanations are preferred. It is assumed that the simpler expla - nation is more likely to be correct. More complex explanations should be developed only after more simple explanations have failed to be supported by research studies. Why is parsimony useful in psychological research? Parsimony helps scientists test their ideas more easily, because it is easier to develop a study that might falsify a simple expla - nation than to develop a study that might falsify a more complex explanation. Falsification is an important part of the research process. This is relevant to the concept of testa - bility as well and will be discussed further in the next section.

Testability The fourth canon of science is testability. The scientific method can only be used to exam - ine ideas that can be tested through observation. The only explanations of behavior that can be tested with the scientific method are those that can be contradicted with observations of CHAPTER 1 Psychological Research 9

behavior. Why is important? It is important because a test of an explanation of a behavior that allows that explanation to be falsified provides a stronger test of that expla - nation. If we look only for evidence to support our explanations of behavior, we are likely to find that evidence and hold on to those explanations longer even if they are wrong. If, instead, we design research studies that can show us behaviors inconsistent with our expla - nations, we are more likely to find evidence against them, if such evidence exists. It takes only a few studies with results inconsistent with an explanation of behavior to falsify it. However, it takes many studies conducted in many different contexts that produce results consistent with an explanation of behavior to support it. Testability is one of the reasons that many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas have not had more influence in current clinical and personality psychology —they are difficult to test using the scientific method. For example, Freud proposed that many of our personality traits are a product of a struggle between constructs of our (id, ego, and superego) that we do not have full conscious access to (Nairne, 2006). It is difficult to test this , because the constructs Freud proposed are difficult to connect to observable behaviors. Thus, it is dif - ficult to systematically observe behaviors in a research study that would contradict the theory. We can, however, answer questions about other types of mental processes that are indi - cated by observable behaviors. For example, we can test the idea that anxiety will cause sleep - lessness. We can observe behaviors of sleeplessness in situations where people are placed in anxiety-provoking situations with anxiety verified by self-report. If anxious people are sleep - ing well, this will contradict our explanation of sleeplessness (i.e., anxiety) and provide us with a good test of our explanation (although this particular result is one that is unlikely to be found). As psychologists using the scientific method, it is important that we ask questions and test explanations about behavior that can be falsified by observations of those behaviors. Why is falsifiability so important in psychological science? As indicated above, falsifica - tion of explanations of behavior advances psychological science much more than sup - porting explanations (Platt, 1964). Whenever researchers can show that an accepted explanation is not supported, it changes the direction of investigation in an area of research and moves psychological science forward in gaining new knowledge about behavior. The canons of science provide a general “how to” guide for psychologists designing research studies, because they help us conduct good tests of our explanations of the causes of behaviors and further our understanding of why certain behaviors occur. The rest of this text describes more of the details of how psychologists apply these canons in designing and conducting research and will step you through the process of developing research studies of your own.

BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

As you begin to consider the types of questions that can be answered in psychological research studies (a topic that will be covered more in Chapter 2), it is important to keep in mind the goals of two major categories of research: basic research and applied research . The goal of basic research is to understand the most fundamental processes of behavior and how they operate. Research questions in basic research are typically about how a behavior works. How much information can we store in short-term memory? Who exhibits more symp - toms of depression: men or women? Do we have implicit stereotypes that affect our social behavior? 10 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH

Applied research is generally focused on answering  questions related to solving real-world problems. Basic Research : research conducted with What type of automated teller machine (ATM) is the the goal of understanding fundamental easiest to use? Which treatments are best in helping processes of phenomena people who are depressed? What type of work envi - Applied Research : research conducted with ronment increases productivity of employees? the goal of solving everyday problems Typically, basic research provides fundamental knowledge of how behaviors operate that is useful to researchers conducting applied studies. For example, suppose that a researcher finds that people who report having insomnia also report symp - toms of anxiety (a similar result was recently reported by Morphy, Dunn, Lewis, Boardman, & Croft, 2007). A conclusion from this study might be that anxiety and sleeplessness are related in some way (note that this does not mean that anxiety causes sleeplessness, only that they are related). This conclusion represents basic knowledge about the connection between emotional state and sleeplessness or insomnia. Researchers interested in the more applied question of how we help people with sleep problems may use this basic knowledge to test treatments for sleeplessness that focus on reducing anxiety to determine whether the relationship found in the above study is causal or not. The basic research in this case is vital for the development of applied studies that address a real-world problem (i.e., insomnia). Table 1.2 provides some additional examples of basic and applied research studies.

TABLE 1.2 Basic and Applied Research Studies

Basic research • Researchers investigated participants’ awareness of the effects of handheld objects on their ability to pass through an opening (such as a doorway). Participants held objects while viewing an opening and reported whether they could pass through the opening holding the objects (Wagman & Taylor, 2005). • To investigate possible spatial-ability differences in male and female infants, 5-month-olds completed a task to determine if they recognized objects that had been rotated from their original orientation (Moore & Johnson, 2008). • Participants were randomly assigned to mixed-race groups, while their activity was recorded to investigate brain areas involved in in-group biases (Van Bavel, Packer, & Cunningham, 2008).

Applied research • Researchers investigated how to increase volunteers for charitable organizations by presenting participants with information about the organizations to determine what type of information affects whether someone will volunteer (Boezeman & Ellemers, 2008). • Two were conducted to determine which emotional states contribute to people being willing to accept advice from others (Gino & Schweitzer, 2008). • From self, peer, and supervisor ratings, researchers determined if managers with better work-life balances were less likely to advance in their careers (Lyness & Judiesch, 2008). CHAPTER 1 Psychological Research 11

Because applied research investigates realistic problems, applied researchers are often concerned with the external validity of their studies. This means that they attempt to observe behaviors that can be applied to real-life situations. This is important because these researchers want to be able to apply their results to a problem that applies to individuals who are not participants in their study (as well as to those individuals who were observed in the  study). External validity is also a consideration in basic research but in some cases can be less External Validity : the degree to which the important than it is in applied research. results of a study apply to individuals and Knowledge gained in applied studies can also realistic behaviors outside the study feed back to basic researchers to help them refine their theories about how behavior works. Suppose in the example above regarding anxiety and insomnia, the applied studies showed that treatments reducing anxiety did not cure the symptoms of insomnia (similar results were reported by Morin, Belanger, & Fortier-Brochu, 2006). In this case, the basic researchers may use this knowledge to hypothesize that the link between anxiety and insomnia may not be a simple causal relationship and conduct further studies to better understand the causes of insomnia and how it is related to anxiety. In this way, the two types of research, basic and applied, interact with each other, showing that both types of research are critical to the field of psychology. As you encounter descriptions of psychological research, you may find that not all research fits neatly into basic or applied categories. Some research can both answer fun - damental questions about behavior and help solve a realistic problem. It may be better to think about research as primarily basic or applied. In other words, basic and applied descriptors may be end points in a continuum of types of research studies with each research study falling somewhere between these end points.

CHAPTER SUMMARY Reconsider the questions from the beginning of the chapter:

• Why do psychologists use the scientific method? Psychologists use the scientific method because it provides the best way to gain new knowledge about behavior. • How do psychologists use the scientific method? Psychologists use the scientific method to observe behaviors as they occur in everyday life and in situations researchers are interested in learning about. • What are the canons of the scientific method? The canons are empiricism, determinism, parsimony, and testability. • What is the difference between basic and applied research? Basic research is designed to answer fundamental questions about behavior. Applied research is designed to gain solutions to everyday problems. • How do basic and applied research interact to increase our knowledge about behavior? Basic research advances our understanding of the causes of behavior. In applied research, these explanations are tested in everyday situations to inform researchers about the best solutions for everyday problems. Knowledge gained 12 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH

about these problems in applied research then informs basic researchers about how explanations of behavior may need to be revised to explain behaviors that occur in everyday life.

THINKING ABOUT RESEARCH A summary of a research study in psychology is given below. As you read the summary, think about the following questions:

1. What behaviors are the researchers observing? 2. How are the observations being recorded by the researchers? 3. Were the researchers able to identify a cause of behavior from this study? 4. Were the researchers able to answer their research question with the observations they collected? How? 5. What results would have falsified the explanation of behavior the authors were testing? 6. Do you think this study qualifies as primarily basic or applied research? Why?

Study Reference Olson, K. R., Banaji, M. R., Dweck, C. S., & Spelke, E. S. (2006). Children’s biased evaluations of lucky versus unlucky people and their social groups. Psychological Science, 17, 845–846.

Purpose of the Study. The researchers were interested in how we develop views of other people in terms of how lucky they are. Do people view lucky individuals more positively than unlucky individuals, or do they prefer unlucky individuals because they feel bad for them? Olson, Banaji, Dweck, and Spelke (2006) examined this way of thinking by measuring children’s pref - erence for individuals portrayed as lucky or unlucky.

Method of the Study. Children between 5 and 7 years old participated in the study. A group of study participants listened to stories about other children. In these stories, the children either performed an intentional that was positive (i.e., helpful) or negative (i.e., harmful) or were involved in an uncontrollable event that was either positive (i.e., something good happened to the child that he or she had no control over—the child was “lucky”) or negative (i.e., something bad happened to the child that he or she had no control over—the child was “unlucky”). After hearing the sto - ries, the participants were asked to rate how much they liked the child in the story by choosing one of six different facial expressions (e.g., smiling face, frowning face) that matched how they felt about the child they heard about.

Results of the Study. Study participants preferred children who experienced positive events. This result was shown for both intentional actions (i.e., children who were intentionally good were preferred over children who were intentionally bad) and for uncontrolled events (i.e., “lucky” children were preferred to “unlucky” children). Participants also preferred children who experienced uncontrolled negative events (i.e., “unlucky” children) as compared to children who performed an intentional negative action. However, the difference in preference for intentional positive actions and uncontrolled positive events (i.e., “lucky” children) was less clear. CHAPTER 1 Psychological Research 13

Conclusions of the Study. The authors concluded that children prefer lucky individuals as com - pared with unlucky individuals. This preference was present in children as young as 5 to 7 years old. According to the researchers, these results may help explain negative attitudes that are some - present for disadvantaged individuals.

COMMON PITFALLS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM Problem: Assuming that psychology equals practice in a “helping profession”: ignoring or dismissing the scientific aspect of psychology

Solution: Understand that science and practice are both important aspects of the field of psychology. In addition, although there is debate about this issue, many psychologists find it important that practitio ners of psychology stay abreast of current research findings to ensure that the most effective treatments are used.

Problem: Positive test bias—designing studies that provide supportive evidence of an explanation of behavior without including the possibility for contradictory evidence

Solution: Carefully design studies to allow collection of data that can support or contradict explanations of behavior.

Problem: Misinterpretation of causation—study of cause and effect relationships requires manipulation (e.g., randomly assigning participants to different situations), but many people confuse reports of relationships with evidence of causation. For example, misinterpretation of causation: confusing evidence of relationships with evidence of causation.

Solution: Do not assume a reported relationship between factors is evidence that one factor causes another unless the study has been designed in such a way that other noncausal relationships can be ruled out.

Problem: Dismissing basic research—some people dismiss basic research as unimportant because it is not designed to solve a real-world problem.

Solution: View the “big pi cture” of knowledge in psychology to see how basic research informs applied research by providing fundamental knowledge of behavior that guides research questions and interpretation of results in applied studies.

TEST YOURSELF Match each canon of science below with its correct definition. 1. Determinism (a) The scientific method can be used to test descriptions and explanations of the world that can be contradicted by observations. 2. Empiricism (b) The s cientific method is used to examine phenomena that have an identifiable cause. 14 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH

3. Testability (c) An assumption of science is that simpler explanations are more likely than complex explanations to be correct. 4. Parsimony (d) Knowledge is gained in science by systematically observing the phenomenon being studied. 5. Freud hypothesized that many of our personality traits are controlled by an unconscious conflict between the id, ego, and superego aspects of our selves that we do not have con scious awareness of (Nairne, 2006). Using what you know about the scientific method, explain why this is difficult to support with observations of behavior. 6. Explain how parsimony is helpful in psychological studies. 7. For each reference listed below, decide whether the study is primarily basic or applied. (a) Drews, F., Pasupathu, M., & Strayer, D. (2008). Passenger and cell phone conversations in simulated driving. Journal of : Applied, 14, 392–400. (b) Roediger, H. L., III, & Geraci, L. (2007). Aging and the misinformation effect: A neuropsychological analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and , 33, 321–334. (c) Bratcher, N. A., Farmer-Dougan, V., Dougan, J. D., Heidenreich, B. A., & Garris, P. A. (2005). The role of dopamine in reinforcement: Changes in reinforcement sensitivity induced by D-sub-1-type, D-sub-2-type, and nonselective dopamine receptor agonists. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 84, 371–399. (d) Declercq, F., Vanheule, S., Markey, S., & Willemsen, J. (2007). Posttraumatic distress in security guards and the various effects of social support. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63, 1239–1246. (e) West, R. (2007). The influence of strategic monitoring on the neural correlates of prospective memory. Memory & Cognition, 35, 1034–1046.

Answers : 1. b, 2. d, 3. a, 4. c, 5. If we do not have conscious awareness of the conflict (if it is unconscious), then it would be difficult to support the of this conflict through direct observations of behavior. In other words, it is difficult to falsify this theory by directly observing behavior. (6) Parsimony (assuming that simple explanations are more likely to be correct) is use - ful in psychological studies because this assumption makes it easier to test explanations of behavior. It is easier to devise a study that can falsify a simple explanation than to devise a study to falsify a more complex explanation. 7a. applied, 7b. basic, 7c. basic, 7d. applied, 7e. basic.